Manusmriti with the Commentary of Medhatithi
by Ganganatha Jha | 1920 | 1,381,940 words | ISBN-10: 8120811550 | ISBN-13: 9788120811553
This is the English translation of the Manusmriti, which is a collection of Sanskrit verses dealing with ‘Dharma’, a collective name for human purpose, their duties and the law. Various topics will be dealt with, but this volume of the series includes 12 discourses (adhyaya). The commentary on this text by Medhatithi elaborately explains various t...
Verse 10.119
Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:
स्वधर्मो विजयस्तस्य नाहवे स्यात् पराङ्मुखः ।
शस्त्रेण वैश्यान् रक्षित्वा धर्म्यमाहारयेद् बलिम् ॥ ११९ ॥svadharmo vijayastasya nāhave syāt parāṅmukhaḥ |
śastreṇa vaiśyān rakṣitvā dharmyamāhārayed balim || 119 ||Conquest is his peculiar duty; and he should never turn back in danger; he shall realise the legal tax from the Vaiśya, after protecting the people;—(119)
Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):
The term ‘Conquest’ should be taken here to mean that which leads to conquest (), which is laid down as the duty of the Kṣatriya.
‘He shall not turn back in danger’—Whenever any danger comes ahead, he shall not turn his back in battle.
In this manner, ‘having protected’ the people, ‘he shall realise the tax from the Vaiśya.’ As a rule Vaiśyas are very wealthy; hence people realising taxes from them, if they are found to behave improperly, are not punished.—(119)
Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha
This verse is quoted in Vīramitrodaya (Rājanīti p. 263).
Comparative notes by various authors
Gautama (12.16, 41).—‘To stand firm in battle and not turn back (is the duty of the Kṣatriya).—Conquest is a means of livelihood for the Kṣatriya,’